Half-life2:Resistance
- Thread starter theotherguy
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theotherguy
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Neo_Kuja said:
well, it is sort of hard to make him go through a whole scene not talking at all and just thinking (as valve could probably attest to)
T
thebebop17
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Ive been following this for a few days now, GREAT story, definitley something you should keep going, butttt i havent seen any posts in about 5 days!? well keep adding more chapters!! GREAT job!!
theotherguy
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yeah I was waiting for the weekend to get back on track i'm going to try to get a chapter done this weekend
T
thebebop17
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sounds like an awesome plan! this story is holding me over until hl2 actually comes out. Uh oh but i gotta pre-order it. Well keep up the good writing!!!
jabberwock95
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Awesome! Love this chapter aswell.
T
theAkula
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First off: I AM FLORED COMPLETELY by your story, truely a masterpiece. I have a question that I have an obvious hope as to the answer you will give:: Since HL2 will probably be delayed until November 23rd, are you planning to complete The Resistence on or before the release? (For a moment I thought you were going to end it with "The return of Gordon Freeman" because then we, the readers, would be able to sort of take on the role that you paved the way for by your amazing prelude, aka The Resistence, which I admit, may have been even more powerful then finishing the story, but I am nevertheless glad you chose to finish it as well)
So long question short: Any plans to finish it before November 23rd now?
p.s. if you ever publish it in a book let me know.
So long question short: Any plans to finish it before November 23rd now?
p.s. if you ever publish it in a book let me know.
theotherguy
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New chapter!...yes, I do plan on finishing it, because it's already probably so far off of the story that there's really no point in me ending it just for the heck of it.
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-Chapter 28, The Graveyard-
The resistance members moved swiftly through the area beyond the fence on the seaward side of Ravenholm, never stopping for fear of being ambushed. The night was dark, with the only light emanating from small streetlights, which were scattered about the area. The party jogged from one island of light made from the lights to the next, carefully and cautiously looking from side to side for signs of zombies.
Father Gregori’s words echoed through Ian’s head. “If you thought that the zombies in the main part of town were horrifying, these ones are far worse…the graveyard is not a happy place to be…” Ian wondered what kinds of things were lurking in the graveyard. What could possibly be worse than the zombies in Ravenholm?
Ian checked his watch as they passed through another circle of light on the ground. It was 5 AM, almost morning. Ian was amazed at how time can fly when you’re having…fun. He gripped his shotgun in his sweaty hands. Childishly, he hoped that morning would come soon, as if whatever lurked out there would be stopped by the light of the sun. The only difference morning would make, he thought, is that he would be able to see whatever was about to kill him.
He looked up towards the sky, and saw the full moon there, slowly falling beneath the horizon beyond one of the hills. There was the silhouette of a couple of trees on the hill, and a flock of crows flew past the moon, creating little black specks where they blocked its light.
“How much farther is it to the mines, Father Gregori?” Harper questioned. “Not far,” Gregori replied, “but I can feel the presence of…them…they are watching us.” Ian wondered what Gregori meant by “them.” Ian said, “What is that supposed to mean? Quit being cryptic and tell us what’s going on!”
Ian’s words echoed in the canyon…He just realized that he had yelled the last part. Suddenly, just as all was silent, they all heard a terrifying sound. A howl, like that of a wolf, reverberated on the wind. The howl made a crescendo as it went on, as if it were growing closer to them. What was this creature? Could it be a wolf?
Gregori stopped the group, and gasped. “They have heard us!” He whispered hastily, stopping the group, and looking into the night for signs of what had made the howl. “We have no choice now but to run, my friends. We must sprint, right now, through the graveyard. But stay close to me, and keep your eyes on the hills among us. Most importantly, shoot anything that moves.” As Gregori finished his sentence, another howl emanated from the hills, and this time it was much closer.
Ian took a sharp breath out of fear, and followed Gregori as he began to sprint across the grass towards a metal gate. Ian could hear howls coming from all around now, and the others all seemed noticeably nervous. The party came to a cast-iron gate, and above the gate there were the words “Ravenholm Cemetery”, cast out of metal, and welded in an ornamental fashion to the top of the gate.
Gregori stopped at the gate, and pulled a ring of keys out of his front jacket pocket. He fumbled with the jingling metal, trying to find the right key that would fit into the lock on the gate. Another howl was heard. This time, it was so close; the rest of the party looked in the direction of one of the hills.
On top of the hill, Ian could see the faint outline of some crawling, apelike creature. The creature leapt to a nearby tree, and began hooting. What was this creature? Ian couldn’t get a quite a good look at it. Gregori glanced back at the tree, and yelled, “Shoot it, you fools!”
Gregori lifted his shotgun, and fired at the tree. However, due to the range, the shotgun didn’t have very high accuracy at all. All Father Gregori managed to do was scare the creature and it shrieked, jumping out of the tree and landing on all fours on the ground.
Ian was horrified at the sight of the creature. His first impression was that the creature was some kind of ape, since it crawled like an ape, and hooted like one. But on further investigation, Ian noticed that the creature’s proportions were like that of a human, so that it limped along on all fours in a strange fashion.
That was when he noticed that on the creature’s head was none other than a hulking headcrab. This creature was a zombie. It stopped for a moment, stunned by Father Gregori’s shot. Drool was dripping from its mandibles, and it continued on with its hooting sounds. Ian noticed that the creature’s hands were mutated, and twig-like, similar to the zombies in the main part of town. However, its feet were clearly that of a human being, even though its body looked like it was in a state of decay, and skin was missing in some places.
The creature shrieked, and loped towards them with incredible speed. Harper fired at it first, sending out a loud bang from his gun. The creature leapt to the side with amazing speed, and the bullet did not hit it.
It moved nimbly towards them, and made a daring lunge through the air at Alyx, shrieking. Alyx let off one shot from her sniper rifle, and the creature flew backwards in the air, and landed on the ground in front of her.
At that time, a crescendo of howling began coming from the hills and the trees. How many were out there? The party kept their guns up to their faces, and looked suspiciously from tree to tree. Just then, Father Gregori was able to unlock the gate behind them, and it swung open with a squeak.
“Get in, quickly my friends!” Father Gregori ordered, running into the graveyard himself. The others hurriedly rushed through the gate, still looking behind them, and listening to the howls of the creatures in the trees. Ian was the last to go through the gate, almost tripping over the dead zombie that Alyx had shot.
He slammed the large metal gate shut behind him, and Father Gregori quickly locked it. Ian doubted that the lock would be much protection against the tree-faring zombies. “What was that thing?” He asked Gregori as the old priest locked the gate.
Gregori glanced into the trees, and said with a whisper, “I call them Howlers. They are the zombies of the poor souls who are already dead. They dig up the graves, and take the dead bodies as hosts. I have no idea how they can even move with a dead body; but all of them seem to take the characteristics of apes. Come, Ian, we are not safe here.”
Ian was disgusted by his description of the howlers. He looked at the body of the dead one on the ground, and noticed that its host did indeed appear to be rotting. How could the creatures desecrate the resting places of his fellow man like that?
Just as Ian began to back away, the hooting reached its final peak in volume, and no fewer than twenty howler zombies jumped nimbly from the branches of the trees to the ground. Hooting, they immediately began charging towards the cast-iron gate.
“Everyone run!” Ian exclaimed as he himself began running in the opposite direction of the gate. The group began running after Father Gregori down the path past the headstones of the graveyard. Ian turned his head back to look at the gate, and noticed with horror that the zombies were quickly, almost gracefully scaling the gate and climbing down to the other side.
Ian turned towards the howling zombies, and fired his shotgun, sending sparks from the gate, and scaring off a pair of the howlers. “Don’t fire while they’re that far away!” ordered Gregori, “they will only dodge, and you waste ammunition. Quickly, come with me!” In spite of his own advice, Father Gregori blasted one potshot at the gate, and continued running through the graveyard.
They sprinted across the wet ground over a small gravel path that was laid down through the graveyard. Ian gave his full effort, for he could hear the moaning howls of the creatures that pursued them. The ground in the graveyard was generally flat, and there were few trees to block one’s vision, so you could easily see the headstones of many graves all around.
Ian noticed that several of the graves had been hastily dug up, and there were even a few coffins exposed; many of them with bite and scratch marks on them. He whipped his head around again, and saw in horror the figures of the loping ape-like zombies. They leaped over headstones and around trees with fluid motion, and they were catching up to the group fast.
“Is now a good time to fire?!” asked Ian desperately. Gregori looked back as well, and yelled, “May God have mercy on their souls!” He stopped in his tracks, and began firing his antique double-barrel shotgun into the night. The pack of howlers quickly shifted its pattern to avoid Gregori’s random firing, and continued leaping; unaffected by the blasts. Ian began firing into the fray, impossibly trying to hit the wildly dodging beasts.
Finally, one of the zombies leapt over a headstone straight at Ian. He fired his gun uselessly, missing the zombie by miles. He was just able to get out of the way enough so that the creature would not collide with him, and it landed on the ground amidst their group. It was quickly met by the combined firing of Alyx, Tonya, and Gregori.
Ian was able to recover from the leaping zombie just long enough to meet the second, and the third zombies. But these he hit, if not by sheer luck. The zombies continued to leap at them, not in as great of numbers as in Ravenholm; but what these zombies lacked in numbers they more than accommodated for with speed.
“Keep falling back!” shouted Father Gregori amidst the gun blasts. “We’re running out of ammunition! We must quickly get to the mines, where the zombies would not dare come!” Just as Gregori shouted this, the sound of the Vortigaunt that was with them could be heard. The Vortigaunt let out a shriek, and a green glow emanated from it. Suddenly, spires of green lighting shot from its claws, arcing through the night like an alien storm.
The arcs of green electricity blasted into one of the howlers. The howler was immediately covered with green sparks for a moment, and the electricity bounded off of it, and ricocheted to another zombie that was nearby.
Both of the creatures instantly fell to the ground, writing in agony. Green smoke rose from their electrified corpses, and Ian could swear he saw tiny flames on their half-eaten clothes. Suddenly, the hooting died down, and the zombies that were once advancing towards them ran away, and climbed the few trees that were around.
They were afraid! Their ally the Vortigaunt had scared them away with just one blast of electricity! In disbelief, Father Gregori looked back at the hunchbacked, one eyed alien and said, “Why didn’t you do that before! Come, they are probably only scared for the moment. We must quickly get to the mines!” With that, Father Gregori began running with the rest of them away from the frightened howler zombies, who hooted idly in the trees, and watched the group in fear.
-------------------------------------
-Chapter 28, The Graveyard-
The resistance members moved swiftly through the area beyond the fence on the seaward side of Ravenholm, never stopping for fear of being ambushed. The night was dark, with the only light emanating from small streetlights, which were scattered about the area. The party jogged from one island of light made from the lights to the next, carefully and cautiously looking from side to side for signs of zombies.
Father Gregori’s words echoed through Ian’s head. “If you thought that the zombies in the main part of town were horrifying, these ones are far worse…the graveyard is not a happy place to be…” Ian wondered what kinds of things were lurking in the graveyard. What could possibly be worse than the zombies in Ravenholm?
Ian checked his watch as they passed through another circle of light on the ground. It was 5 AM, almost morning. Ian was amazed at how time can fly when you’re having…fun. He gripped his shotgun in his sweaty hands. Childishly, he hoped that morning would come soon, as if whatever lurked out there would be stopped by the light of the sun. The only difference morning would make, he thought, is that he would be able to see whatever was about to kill him.
He looked up towards the sky, and saw the full moon there, slowly falling beneath the horizon beyond one of the hills. There was the silhouette of a couple of trees on the hill, and a flock of crows flew past the moon, creating little black specks where they blocked its light.
“How much farther is it to the mines, Father Gregori?” Harper questioned. “Not far,” Gregori replied, “but I can feel the presence of…them…they are watching us.” Ian wondered what Gregori meant by “them.” Ian said, “What is that supposed to mean? Quit being cryptic and tell us what’s going on!”
Ian’s words echoed in the canyon…He just realized that he had yelled the last part. Suddenly, just as all was silent, they all heard a terrifying sound. A howl, like that of a wolf, reverberated on the wind. The howl made a crescendo as it went on, as if it were growing closer to them. What was this creature? Could it be a wolf?
Gregori stopped the group, and gasped. “They have heard us!” He whispered hastily, stopping the group, and looking into the night for signs of what had made the howl. “We have no choice now but to run, my friends. We must sprint, right now, through the graveyard. But stay close to me, and keep your eyes on the hills among us. Most importantly, shoot anything that moves.” As Gregori finished his sentence, another howl emanated from the hills, and this time it was much closer.
Ian took a sharp breath out of fear, and followed Gregori as he began to sprint across the grass towards a metal gate. Ian could hear howls coming from all around now, and the others all seemed noticeably nervous. The party came to a cast-iron gate, and above the gate there were the words “Ravenholm Cemetery”, cast out of metal, and welded in an ornamental fashion to the top of the gate.
Gregori stopped at the gate, and pulled a ring of keys out of his front jacket pocket. He fumbled with the jingling metal, trying to find the right key that would fit into the lock on the gate. Another howl was heard. This time, it was so close; the rest of the party looked in the direction of one of the hills.
On top of the hill, Ian could see the faint outline of some crawling, apelike creature. The creature leapt to a nearby tree, and began hooting. What was this creature? Ian couldn’t get a quite a good look at it. Gregori glanced back at the tree, and yelled, “Shoot it, you fools!”
Gregori lifted his shotgun, and fired at the tree. However, due to the range, the shotgun didn’t have very high accuracy at all. All Father Gregori managed to do was scare the creature and it shrieked, jumping out of the tree and landing on all fours on the ground.
Ian was horrified at the sight of the creature. His first impression was that the creature was some kind of ape, since it crawled like an ape, and hooted like one. But on further investigation, Ian noticed that the creature’s proportions were like that of a human, so that it limped along on all fours in a strange fashion.
That was when he noticed that on the creature’s head was none other than a hulking headcrab. This creature was a zombie. It stopped for a moment, stunned by Father Gregori’s shot. Drool was dripping from its mandibles, and it continued on with its hooting sounds. Ian noticed that the creature’s hands were mutated, and twig-like, similar to the zombies in the main part of town. However, its feet were clearly that of a human being, even though its body looked like it was in a state of decay, and skin was missing in some places.
The creature shrieked, and loped towards them with incredible speed. Harper fired at it first, sending out a loud bang from his gun. The creature leapt to the side with amazing speed, and the bullet did not hit it.
It moved nimbly towards them, and made a daring lunge through the air at Alyx, shrieking. Alyx let off one shot from her sniper rifle, and the creature flew backwards in the air, and landed on the ground in front of her.
At that time, a crescendo of howling began coming from the hills and the trees. How many were out there? The party kept their guns up to their faces, and looked suspiciously from tree to tree. Just then, Father Gregori was able to unlock the gate behind them, and it swung open with a squeak.
“Get in, quickly my friends!” Father Gregori ordered, running into the graveyard himself. The others hurriedly rushed through the gate, still looking behind them, and listening to the howls of the creatures in the trees. Ian was the last to go through the gate, almost tripping over the dead zombie that Alyx had shot.
He slammed the large metal gate shut behind him, and Father Gregori quickly locked it. Ian doubted that the lock would be much protection against the tree-faring zombies. “What was that thing?” He asked Gregori as the old priest locked the gate.
Gregori glanced into the trees, and said with a whisper, “I call them Howlers. They are the zombies of the poor souls who are already dead. They dig up the graves, and take the dead bodies as hosts. I have no idea how they can even move with a dead body; but all of them seem to take the characteristics of apes. Come, Ian, we are not safe here.”
Ian was disgusted by his description of the howlers. He looked at the body of the dead one on the ground, and noticed that its host did indeed appear to be rotting. How could the creatures desecrate the resting places of his fellow man like that?
Just as Ian began to back away, the hooting reached its final peak in volume, and no fewer than twenty howler zombies jumped nimbly from the branches of the trees to the ground. Hooting, they immediately began charging towards the cast-iron gate.
“Everyone run!” Ian exclaimed as he himself began running in the opposite direction of the gate. The group began running after Father Gregori down the path past the headstones of the graveyard. Ian turned his head back to look at the gate, and noticed with horror that the zombies were quickly, almost gracefully scaling the gate and climbing down to the other side.
Ian turned towards the howling zombies, and fired his shotgun, sending sparks from the gate, and scaring off a pair of the howlers. “Don’t fire while they’re that far away!” ordered Gregori, “they will only dodge, and you waste ammunition. Quickly, come with me!” In spite of his own advice, Father Gregori blasted one potshot at the gate, and continued running through the graveyard.
They sprinted across the wet ground over a small gravel path that was laid down through the graveyard. Ian gave his full effort, for he could hear the moaning howls of the creatures that pursued them. The ground in the graveyard was generally flat, and there were few trees to block one’s vision, so you could easily see the headstones of many graves all around.
Ian noticed that several of the graves had been hastily dug up, and there were even a few coffins exposed; many of them with bite and scratch marks on them. He whipped his head around again, and saw in horror the figures of the loping ape-like zombies. They leaped over headstones and around trees with fluid motion, and they were catching up to the group fast.
“Is now a good time to fire?!” asked Ian desperately. Gregori looked back as well, and yelled, “May God have mercy on their souls!” He stopped in his tracks, and began firing his antique double-barrel shotgun into the night. The pack of howlers quickly shifted its pattern to avoid Gregori’s random firing, and continued leaping; unaffected by the blasts. Ian began firing into the fray, impossibly trying to hit the wildly dodging beasts.
Finally, one of the zombies leapt over a headstone straight at Ian. He fired his gun uselessly, missing the zombie by miles. He was just able to get out of the way enough so that the creature would not collide with him, and it landed on the ground amidst their group. It was quickly met by the combined firing of Alyx, Tonya, and Gregori.
Ian was able to recover from the leaping zombie just long enough to meet the second, and the third zombies. But these he hit, if not by sheer luck. The zombies continued to leap at them, not in as great of numbers as in Ravenholm; but what these zombies lacked in numbers they more than accommodated for with speed.
“Keep falling back!” shouted Father Gregori amidst the gun blasts. “We’re running out of ammunition! We must quickly get to the mines, where the zombies would not dare come!” Just as Gregori shouted this, the sound of the Vortigaunt that was with them could be heard. The Vortigaunt let out a shriek, and a green glow emanated from it. Suddenly, spires of green lighting shot from its claws, arcing through the night like an alien storm.
The arcs of green electricity blasted into one of the howlers. The howler was immediately covered with green sparks for a moment, and the electricity bounded off of it, and ricocheted to another zombie that was nearby.
Both of the creatures instantly fell to the ground, writing in agony. Green smoke rose from their electrified corpses, and Ian could swear he saw tiny flames on their half-eaten clothes. Suddenly, the hooting died down, and the zombies that were once advancing towards them ran away, and climbed the few trees that were around.
They were afraid! Their ally the Vortigaunt had scared them away with just one blast of electricity! In disbelief, Father Gregori looked back at the hunchbacked, one eyed alien and said, “Why didn’t you do that before! Come, they are probably only scared for the moment. We must quickly get to the mines!” With that, Father Gregori began running with the rest of them away from the frightened howler zombies, who hooted idly in the trees, and watched the group in fear.
theotherguy
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It appeared that they weren’t worth the zombies’ troubles. Even so, they were still very suspicious of the zombies, and their stunning was probably only temporary. They continued down the gravel path amongst the headstones and the gnarled trees of the graveyard.
Evidence of the zombies’ proliferation of the graveyard was visible everywhere. There were dug-up graves in most parts, as well as hastily opened coffins. The zombies wanted every host that they could get. Most disturbingly, Ian noticed a few half-eaten corpses here and there. Were they perhaps hosts unfit for controlling? Or, in their hunger, had the howlers taken up cannibalism? Ian didn’t want to think about it.
His head filled with paranoia. How long would it be before the zombies attacked again? Harper asked Gregori, “How much farther are we from the mines?” Gregori replied, “The mines are very close to the edge of the graveyard. Just past these crypts we should be coming to the final gate.”
Ian looked down the path and noticed among the headstones a group of small stone crypt buildings. Their sight was ominous; a sign of his own imminent death. However, their sight showed that they were nearing the end of their journey; and Ian longed very much to get out of the graveyard.
They stopped sprinting now, and slowed to a jog as they passed by the ominous crypts. Designs were carved intricately into the stone of the small grave buildings. Strangely, the huge stone doors of the crypts had been pushed aside haphazardly, and Ian could see a trail of human blood that led into one of the crypts. They had made a fresh kill.
Nervously, he sped up. “Why do you suppose they decided to take over dead people, of all things as hosts?” Ian asked the group. “I do not know the answer to that question,” Gregori replied, “But the desecration of these graves is a great sin to God. No doubt these headcrab creatures are demons sent from the evil one himself...” Gregori hung his head in shame. Ian knew how hard it must have been for Father Gregori, his whole town had been infected by zombies: all of his family, his friends…who could blame him?
Just then, a loud howl was heard from the graveyard behind them. “They have gotten over their fear!” Gregori exclaimed, “Come, follow me, friends, we are very close to the mines now.” Gregori didn’t hesitate to look back at the zombies which were undoubtedly making their way back to the group of resistance members as they spoke.
Feeling the pressure of fear, Ian ran along with the group away from the main part of the graveyard. After a few seconds, they came to yet another huge cast-iron gate. “This is the gate out of the graveyard, comrades. The zombies do not dare pass it, for they are afraid of the group of the alien resistance party that lives in the minds beyond this gate.” Father Gregori took out his set of keys once again, and began searching for the one that would allow the group to pass through the gate.
They could hear the crescendo of howls from beyond the crypts growing. “C’mon Gregori, They’re getting closer!” Harper exclaimed, keeping his eyes focused in the direction of the crypts. Gregori finally found the right key, and turned it on the padlock of the gate.
The gate swung open with a squeal, and the group swarmed through it, eager to get out of the graveyard. Once they had all passed through, Gregori shut the gate once more, and locked it. Just as he was doing this, the group could see the image of a singular howler zombie coming beyond the crypts.
It moved along creepily, and was then joined by several others. They paused for a moment, and looked at the group of resistance members. Ian immediately began to back away from the gate, but Gregori simply stood there, and watched the zombies as they formed up like a deer in the headlights.
“Uh, Gregori,” Alyx suggested, “maybe we ought to be going right about now…” Gregori put a finger up to his lips, “Shh…” he hissed. So, the rest of the group stopped baking away, and waited with Father Gregori for a few moments as he watched the howlers.
Suddenly, they let out a collective shriek, and charged the gate. However, Gregori continued to stand there. The zombies loped quickly up to the gate, and just when it seemed imminent that they were going to leap upon it, they stopped suddenly, as if there were some invisible barrier there.
Each of the zombies stopped equidistantly from the gate, and began pacing the apparent invisible barrier. What was going on? Ian thought. Gregori answered his unspoken question, “You see, my brothers, they are afraid! They cannot pass beyond the gate. They are frightened of the mines. We have nothing to fear from the howlers on the premises of the mines, my friends. Come with me, and I will show you to where the alien resistance resides.”
Gregori smoothly turned and walked off into the woods. The rest of the group followed him. They were nearing the end of their journey. But a thought suddenly hit Ian, “Uh, guys, once this is over, how are we going to get back to City-17? We’re kind of lacking in the area of transportation…” Gregori was the one who responded, “My friend, do not worry, that is something that the Lord will have to provide. Right now, we need to talk with the aliens that make their base in the mines. Later, we will worry about logistics.”
Somehow, Ian was not comforted by Gregori’s logic. He sure as heck didn’t want to have to make his way back through the graveyard and Ravenholm to get back to City-17; and their car had already been taken by The Combine.
The group continued slowly through the woods towards what they presumed was the mine. Indeed, as they continued through the woods, Ian noticed that the trees were becoming less dense, and many of them were clear-cut, with only stumps sticking out of the ground. Also, as they continued, the proliferation of Xenian flora became apparent, as there were many recognizable alien plants growing here and there.
In fact, they passed a great number of strange, glowing fungi creatures; which emitted an orange light. When they came near to one of these fungi, the creatures would pull itself back into its base, and would emit no more light.
When the forest was almost totally clear-cut, and the amount of Xen plants in the area had reached an extreme, Ian knew that they had reached the mines. “I recognize these plants, they are from my homeland. It has been a long time since I have seen Xen. It is good that I have finally gotten a glimpse of home on this strange, alien planet.” The Vortigaunt commented as they passed through the alien landscape.
It seemed odd, that the Vortigaunt would be calling their planet strange, when such abnormal plants were all around them. It was all relative. “Indeed, my friend, we come upon the mines now.” Gregori replied. Gregori pointed in the general direction that they were traveling. Ian looked towards where Gregori was pointing, and noticed that there was a large wooden structure that was build around a hole in the ground in the clearing in the trees.
They had come to the mines. Gregori led them across the clearing, and they came up to a ramp which led down into the wooden scaffolding of the mines. “What exactly did they used to mine here?” Harper asked. Gregori replied, “It was a coal mine before the invasion. Now it’s only purpose is to house the alien resistance. The mines are quite extensive, and I’m not sure just how many aliens are in there. Come, I will lead you into the mines. Let’s just hope that they are friendly, and welcome us.”
So, the group descended down the gravel ramp into the dark, deep and Byzantine mines. Although they were apparently going to be among friends, Ian couldn’t help but have bad feelings about this. He descended into the darkness of the mines, with the thick smell of coal dust in his nose.
-Chapter 29, Diplomacy-
Evidence of the zombies’ proliferation of the graveyard was visible everywhere. There were dug-up graves in most parts, as well as hastily opened coffins. The zombies wanted every host that they could get. Most disturbingly, Ian noticed a few half-eaten corpses here and there. Were they perhaps hosts unfit for controlling? Or, in their hunger, had the howlers taken up cannibalism? Ian didn’t want to think about it.
His head filled with paranoia. How long would it be before the zombies attacked again? Harper asked Gregori, “How much farther are we from the mines?” Gregori replied, “The mines are very close to the edge of the graveyard. Just past these crypts we should be coming to the final gate.”
Ian looked down the path and noticed among the headstones a group of small stone crypt buildings. Their sight was ominous; a sign of his own imminent death. However, their sight showed that they were nearing the end of their journey; and Ian longed very much to get out of the graveyard.
They stopped sprinting now, and slowed to a jog as they passed by the ominous crypts. Designs were carved intricately into the stone of the small grave buildings. Strangely, the huge stone doors of the crypts had been pushed aside haphazardly, and Ian could see a trail of human blood that led into one of the crypts. They had made a fresh kill.
Nervously, he sped up. “Why do you suppose they decided to take over dead people, of all things as hosts?” Ian asked the group. “I do not know the answer to that question,” Gregori replied, “But the desecration of these graves is a great sin to God. No doubt these headcrab creatures are demons sent from the evil one himself...” Gregori hung his head in shame. Ian knew how hard it must have been for Father Gregori, his whole town had been infected by zombies: all of his family, his friends…who could blame him?
Just then, a loud howl was heard from the graveyard behind them. “They have gotten over their fear!” Gregori exclaimed, “Come, follow me, friends, we are very close to the mines now.” Gregori didn’t hesitate to look back at the zombies which were undoubtedly making their way back to the group of resistance members as they spoke.
Feeling the pressure of fear, Ian ran along with the group away from the main part of the graveyard. After a few seconds, they came to yet another huge cast-iron gate. “This is the gate out of the graveyard, comrades. The zombies do not dare pass it, for they are afraid of the group of the alien resistance party that lives in the minds beyond this gate.” Father Gregori took out his set of keys once again, and began searching for the one that would allow the group to pass through the gate.
They could hear the crescendo of howls from beyond the crypts growing. “C’mon Gregori, They’re getting closer!” Harper exclaimed, keeping his eyes focused in the direction of the crypts. Gregori finally found the right key, and turned it on the padlock of the gate.
The gate swung open with a squeal, and the group swarmed through it, eager to get out of the graveyard. Once they had all passed through, Gregori shut the gate once more, and locked it. Just as he was doing this, the group could see the image of a singular howler zombie coming beyond the crypts.
It moved along creepily, and was then joined by several others. They paused for a moment, and looked at the group of resistance members. Ian immediately began to back away from the gate, but Gregori simply stood there, and watched the zombies as they formed up like a deer in the headlights.
“Uh, Gregori,” Alyx suggested, “maybe we ought to be going right about now…” Gregori put a finger up to his lips, “Shh…” he hissed. So, the rest of the group stopped baking away, and waited with Father Gregori for a few moments as he watched the howlers.
Suddenly, they let out a collective shriek, and charged the gate. However, Gregori continued to stand there. The zombies loped quickly up to the gate, and just when it seemed imminent that they were going to leap upon it, they stopped suddenly, as if there were some invisible barrier there.
Each of the zombies stopped equidistantly from the gate, and began pacing the apparent invisible barrier. What was going on? Ian thought. Gregori answered his unspoken question, “You see, my brothers, they are afraid! They cannot pass beyond the gate. They are frightened of the mines. We have nothing to fear from the howlers on the premises of the mines, my friends. Come with me, and I will show you to where the alien resistance resides.”
Gregori smoothly turned and walked off into the woods. The rest of the group followed him. They were nearing the end of their journey. But a thought suddenly hit Ian, “Uh, guys, once this is over, how are we going to get back to City-17? We’re kind of lacking in the area of transportation…” Gregori was the one who responded, “My friend, do not worry, that is something that the Lord will have to provide. Right now, we need to talk with the aliens that make their base in the mines. Later, we will worry about logistics.”
Somehow, Ian was not comforted by Gregori’s logic. He sure as heck didn’t want to have to make his way back through the graveyard and Ravenholm to get back to City-17; and their car had already been taken by The Combine.
The group continued slowly through the woods towards what they presumed was the mine. Indeed, as they continued through the woods, Ian noticed that the trees were becoming less dense, and many of them were clear-cut, with only stumps sticking out of the ground. Also, as they continued, the proliferation of Xenian flora became apparent, as there were many recognizable alien plants growing here and there.
In fact, they passed a great number of strange, glowing fungi creatures; which emitted an orange light. When they came near to one of these fungi, the creatures would pull itself back into its base, and would emit no more light.
When the forest was almost totally clear-cut, and the amount of Xen plants in the area had reached an extreme, Ian knew that they had reached the mines. “I recognize these plants, they are from my homeland. It has been a long time since I have seen Xen. It is good that I have finally gotten a glimpse of home on this strange, alien planet.” The Vortigaunt commented as they passed through the alien landscape.
It seemed odd, that the Vortigaunt would be calling their planet strange, when such abnormal plants were all around them. It was all relative. “Indeed, my friend, we come upon the mines now.” Gregori replied. Gregori pointed in the general direction that they were traveling. Ian looked towards where Gregori was pointing, and noticed that there was a large wooden structure that was build around a hole in the ground in the clearing in the trees.
They had come to the mines. Gregori led them across the clearing, and they came up to a ramp which led down into the wooden scaffolding of the mines. “What exactly did they used to mine here?” Harper asked. Gregori replied, “It was a coal mine before the invasion. Now it’s only purpose is to house the alien resistance. The mines are quite extensive, and I’m not sure just how many aliens are in there. Come, I will lead you into the mines. Let’s just hope that they are friendly, and welcome us.”
So, the group descended down the gravel ramp into the dark, deep and Byzantine mines. Although they were apparently going to be among friends, Ian couldn’t help but have bad feelings about this. He descended into the darkness of the mines, with the thick smell of coal dust in his nose.
-Chapter 29, Diplomacy-
T
thebebop17
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Awesome writing!! keep it up and get us another chapter soon!!!!
halflifeguy
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Is he ever gonna finish the story?
T
thebebop17
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is he ever going to post again...
theotherguy
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hold your horses, its only been a week! Im beggining the new chapter right now and since its a 3 day weekend, you should see an update tommorow.
theotherguy
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Ok, new chapter all!
-Chapter 29, Diplomacy-
The deep, black entrance to the mine swallowed the group like a giant whale. They followed along an abandoned mine train track. Its wooden planks were strewn randomly around its twisted metal frame. Coal dust littered the floor; a black veil seemed to be over everything.
As they went down the steady incline, the light around them became less and less, until eventually, they reached a point of pitch blackness. Ian looked around, seeing nothing but the moonlight from behind them, streaming through the hole, and causing the floating coal dust to become visible.
“Uh, guys? How are we going to see out here?” He asked into the pitch blackness. Father Gregori answered him with his voice echoing and bouncing off of the stone walls. “Fear not, my friend. I have brought a torch with me. Or perhaps in the city one would call it a flashlight.”
Ian heard a click, and suddenly, the flickering light of Father Gregori’s flashlight appeared in a beam, illuminating the floor in front of them, and creating dancing shadows on the walls. Gregori looked at the heavy-looking, yellow flashlight he was carrying, and asked rhetorically, “I wonder how long the batteries will last.”
Ian dreaded the thought of being down in the middle of the caverns without any light, lost with…whatever was down there. He hoped that Gregori’s flashlight would last the duration of their trip. The group trudged down the incline, still following the train cart track through the caverns. Then, they came to a dead end in the tunnel.
Father Gregori’s flashlight panned over the rock wall before them, when his light came upon a set of steel cables, which were attached to the ceiling, and hung down into a square hole in the ground. It appeared to be the top of some kind of elevator; probably something that the miners used to get quickly from the top of the mine to the bottom of it.
The group silently walked to the dead end of the tunnel, and gathered around the hole and the cables. Ian came about a foot from the square hole, and looked down. Small pebbles that his feet had kicked were falling down the shaft.
Father Gregori’s flashlight played on the walls of the shaft, and Ian could see no farther than 20 feet lower, where everything was totally black. “How are we going to get down there?” Tonya asked Ian meekly. It was Father Gregori who answered he question, however. “We climb,” he offered, “You see that ladder over there?”
Father Gregori’s light fell upon a small red ladder, which was bolted to the stone, and descended down into the darkness. ‘You want us to climb…that?” Harper retorted, “It must go at least fifty or sixty feet more before it reaches a landing!” Father Gregori sighed, “We will have to make due, my friend. The elevator is without power. Besides, we have come too far to be stopped by a ladder.”
Father Gregori walked around to the other side of the hole, and kicked the top of the ladder, making a loud twang. “It appears stable enough. Come, my friends, the alien resistance awaits us!” Father Gregori nimbly turned himself around, and grabbed the ladder, beginning his sixty foot descent straight down it.
The others, of course, had no other choice but to follow him. So the group went around either side of the square hole, and began to get on the ladder. Ian was second to last to get onto the ladder. Only the three armed, hunch-backed Vortigaunt was on top of him. Ian felt nervous having the clumsy beast above him, because ladders were obviously not designed for a creature of his physique.
Ian turned around, placed his hands on the parallel metal bars of the ladder, and firmly placed his feet a few rows below. Carefully, he began his descent. The feet of the resistance members clanged on the metal of the red ladder as they climbed down with as much speed as they could muster.
Ian looked up as he was climbing, and saw that the Vortigaunt was actually doing quite well, and was climbing down the ladder with grace, his three arms motoring. Water fell on Ian’s head, and he noticed the steady stream of dripping water from the ceiling above him. He heard the echoes of water falling below him, which meant that they were not far from the bottom.
-Chapter 29, Diplomacy-
The deep, black entrance to the mine swallowed the group like a giant whale. They followed along an abandoned mine train track. Its wooden planks were strewn randomly around its twisted metal frame. Coal dust littered the floor; a black veil seemed to be over everything.
As they went down the steady incline, the light around them became less and less, until eventually, they reached a point of pitch blackness. Ian looked around, seeing nothing but the moonlight from behind them, streaming through the hole, and causing the floating coal dust to become visible.
“Uh, guys? How are we going to see out here?” He asked into the pitch blackness. Father Gregori answered him with his voice echoing and bouncing off of the stone walls. “Fear not, my friend. I have brought a torch with me. Or perhaps in the city one would call it a flashlight.”
Ian heard a click, and suddenly, the flickering light of Father Gregori’s flashlight appeared in a beam, illuminating the floor in front of them, and creating dancing shadows on the walls. Gregori looked at the heavy-looking, yellow flashlight he was carrying, and asked rhetorically, “I wonder how long the batteries will last.”
Ian dreaded the thought of being down in the middle of the caverns without any light, lost with…whatever was down there. He hoped that Gregori’s flashlight would last the duration of their trip. The group trudged down the incline, still following the train cart track through the caverns. Then, they came to a dead end in the tunnel.
Father Gregori’s flashlight panned over the rock wall before them, when his light came upon a set of steel cables, which were attached to the ceiling, and hung down into a square hole in the ground. It appeared to be the top of some kind of elevator; probably something that the miners used to get quickly from the top of the mine to the bottom of it.
The group silently walked to the dead end of the tunnel, and gathered around the hole and the cables. Ian came about a foot from the square hole, and looked down. Small pebbles that his feet had kicked were falling down the shaft.
Father Gregori’s flashlight played on the walls of the shaft, and Ian could see no farther than 20 feet lower, where everything was totally black. “How are we going to get down there?” Tonya asked Ian meekly. It was Father Gregori who answered he question, however. “We climb,” he offered, “You see that ladder over there?”
Father Gregori’s light fell upon a small red ladder, which was bolted to the stone, and descended down into the darkness. ‘You want us to climb…that?” Harper retorted, “It must go at least fifty or sixty feet more before it reaches a landing!” Father Gregori sighed, “We will have to make due, my friend. The elevator is without power. Besides, we have come too far to be stopped by a ladder.”
Father Gregori walked around to the other side of the hole, and kicked the top of the ladder, making a loud twang. “It appears stable enough. Come, my friends, the alien resistance awaits us!” Father Gregori nimbly turned himself around, and grabbed the ladder, beginning his sixty foot descent straight down it.
The others, of course, had no other choice but to follow him. So the group went around either side of the square hole, and began to get on the ladder. Ian was second to last to get onto the ladder. Only the three armed, hunch-backed Vortigaunt was on top of him. Ian felt nervous having the clumsy beast above him, because ladders were obviously not designed for a creature of his physique.
Ian turned around, placed his hands on the parallel metal bars of the ladder, and firmly placed his feet a few rows below. Carefully, he began his descent. The feet of the resistance members clanged on the metal of the red ladder as they climbed down with as much speed as they could muster.
Ian looked up as he was climbing, and saw that the Vortigaunt was actually doing quite well, and was climbing down the ladder with grace, his three arms motoring. Water fell on Ian’s head, and he noticed the steady stream of dripping water from the ceiling above him. He heard the echoes of water falling below him, which meant that they were not far from the bottom.
theotherguy
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After a few more minutes of climbing, the group came to what appeared to be the bottom of the shaft. One by one, they jumped down from the ladder, and were on the floor. Once he reached the bottom, Ian stepped off of the ladder. Ian was disgusted when his foot landed in something…spongy.
Plucking his foot from the mass, he looked down, and noticed appallingly that the floor was covered in some sort of brown, webby material, separated by a songlike, organic material. “What is this stuff?” Ian asked, kicking some of it with his foot.
The Vortigaunt replied with his computer generated voice. “It is the natural groundcover of Xen. It’s called hutlagh’ it is like our version of grass. I suspect that we are close to my Xenian brethren now. No doubt they would plant hutlagh’ here to make them feel more at home.” The Vortigaunt bent over, and sniffed the ground. “Yes, it does indeed remind me of my home…”
Ian felt uncomfortable on the spongy material. Unlike the Vortigaunt, all that this stuff reminded him of was the destruction of his planet by the combine. Once everyone had made it down to the bottom of the cave, Father Gregori, with his flashlight in hand, stood in the center of the group.
“Alright, we are not far from them now. However, these caves can be rather confusing, and we might get lost if we do not know where we are going. I remember where they were the last time, but they may have moved since then. IN short, they could be anywhere. But we will find them, if they do not find us. Stick close my friends, this mine is the strangest place I have been on the face of God’s Earth.”
With that, Father Gregori trekked off into the caves through the spongy, web like ground-covering. The others followed him through the caves like a flock of birds, looking in every direction, trying to see through the shadows for some indication of which route they should follow.
As they continued down the path, past abandoned mining equipment, and forgotten tunnels, the landscape grew stranger and stranger. Now there were odd fungi growing intermittently on the cave wall, some of them emitted light. Soon the proliferation of the fungi grew so dense that Father Gregori no longer needed to use his flashlight. Instead, they were easily able to see in the orange glow of the Xenian fungi.
As they continued further, stranger and stranger fungi grew. There were some that moved, and swayed, others that lashed out at them as they passed by. There were even some that resembled enormous headcrabs, driven into the ground like some kind of massive parasites.
Here and there, there were openings in the ground that were lined with pink organic material, and what Ian swore were teeth. The Vortigaunt called them “Bouncers” and warned that none of them should step on the bouncers, unless they wanted to be splattered against the ceiling; whatever that meant.
Now they came to a huge red mining device. It looked like an ore separator, the sort of thing that you would put raw ore in, and it would separate it into large rocks and gravel. Ian knew this from being one of the miners under the citadel just two weeks before. However, this mining device was long since abandoned, and several fungi and vines had already made their home inside it.
Father Gregori stopped suddenly at the mining device, and placed his hand on it. “I remember this. The mines have changed much since I was last here… but this mining device I remember. We are very close to their headquarters now. Be strong, my friends, for the next part of this journey is very frightening, just follow me, trust in God, and you will do fine.” Ian wondered what he meant about it being frightening. What could be more frightening than what they had just been through?
Suddenly, Father Gregori let out a yell, and ran to the left. Unexpectedly, he disappeared, and his yelling could be heard growing farther and farter away. It seemed as if he had just fallen through the ground. “Uh…ok? What just happened here?” Harper asked in disbelief.
What had happened to Father Gregori? One minute he was running and yelling, and the next he was jut gone. As they stood there in disbelief, suddenly, they heard the sound of Father Gregori’s voice. “Comrades, come down here with me! It’s exhilarating!” His voice echoed through the cave.
Hurriedly, the rest of the group ran towards the sound of his voice. Ian skidded to a stop when he came to a huge hole in the ground. He must have noticed it because of the holes placement on the hill. That’s why it seemed that Father Gregori simply disappeared when he fell down the hole.
Ian looked over the edge, and what he saw shocked him. There at the bottom, perhaps 30 feet down, was row upon row of the toothed, round holes that the Vortigaunt called Bouncers. Next to the rows of bouncers, there stood Father Gregori, smiling and waving.
“Don’t be afraid, friends,” he shouted, “These creatures will block your fall; it will be like floating on a cloud!” Harper looked appalled, “You want us to just jump off of this 30 foot cliff and expect us to land safely?” Harper asked sarcastically. Father Gregori shrugged, “Worked for me…” he replied.
“Oh for Heaven’s sake Harper, I’m just going to go!” Alyx said to Harper. She jumped off of the cliff; a move which defied all logic. She let out a yell, and Ian watched as she fell towards the ground. He expected her to just land, and break a few bones. However, when she came a few feet from one of the Bouncers, Ian heard a hissing sound, like a steam train would make. The Bouncer’s membrane lifted up, and Alyx was blown back into the air by an invisible force, but only about five feet this time.
She floated forward, like a cat making a leap, and landed delicately on the ground next to Father Gregori. “Woohoo!” she exclaimed, brushing coal dust off of her. “That was amazing! You guys have to try it!” Ian, however, was still hesitant to jump into the jaws of the strange creatures.
The Vortigaunt was the next one to make the jump. Gracefully, it leaped off of the ledge, and floated down to Father Gregori and Alyx. Ian knew that he would have to jump soon. “You or me?” he asked Tonya, who was standing next to him.
“I’m afraid,” she replied. Ian took her hand. “Then we’ll go together!” He said, jumping off of the ledge. He dragged Tonya down with him as he fell. He had the strange sensation that his stomach was floating up to his throat. The rows of mouths loomed underneath him. The ground came up at him like a baseball bat, and Tonya screamed in horror.
Then, just as they were about to hit the ground, the nearest Bouncer to them inflated like a balloon. He heard a hissing sound, and they were both stopped suddenly by a steady stream of air. Ian felt like he was walking on a cloud as one Bouncer passed them to another one, until they finally floated easily back down to the ground next to Father Gregori, Alyx, and the Vortigaunt.
“That was fun!” Tonya exclaimed giddily. Ian replied, “Interesting how entertaining alien plants can be…” Collectively, they all looked up at Harper, who still stood on the ledge meekly. “C’mon Harper, it’s easy!” Alyx called up to him, “Or are you afraid of heights or something?” Harper grumbled, and jumped off of the ledge.
Just like the others, he nearly hit the bottom, and then floated down next to the rest of the group. He laughed nervously, “Ok…that…was…fun…” he admitted. “Now what?” Ian asked Father Gregori. The old priest looked around. “We are very close to the place where I met them last. Come with me, friends, and I will show you what to do next.” Father Gregori walked off in a direction, and the others followed him.
They were in a much larger cavern now, and very few of the fungi grew on the walls here, but everything was covered in the strange alien grass. There was an indentation in the center of the cavern, where there was a strange, red liquid which smelled rancid.
“What is this place?” Ian asked rhetorically into the darkness. They waded through the rancid red liquid, and Gregori began to speak. “Right here, this is exactly where I met them last. They told me to say something when I came back. Some kind of password…if only I could remember it…” Father Gregori sat there for a moment, thinking about what it was he had to say.
Then, he snapped his fingers. “Ah, I remember now,” he exclaimed. “Comes another traveler: To redeem the words of the ancient!” As he yelled this nonsensical phrase, the ground began to shake. Ian stabilized himself with his arms, trying not to lose his balance and fall over.
The liquid stuff rippled around them as the ground shook. Unexpectedly, in the center of the room, from beneath the liquid appeared a blue light. Out of the blue light rose some kind of organic pillar, asymmetric and glowing.
The pillar plowed out of the fluid like a monolith, and stood there, buzzing and glowing. “Whoa…” interjected Harper. “What is it?” Tonya asked. It was the Vortigaunt who answered her question. “I recognize it from Xen. It’s a transporter device, one of the ones that we used to transport our shipments of packaged Gen-Troops to our Combine overlords. I believe I know what I must do next…” The Vortigaunt ran towards the pillar.
He leaped up to the top of the pillar, and stepped into an enclave made by a series of spikes on top of the pillar. Then, there was a flash of green light, and the Vortigaunt disappeared. The rest of the group just looked at the pillar. What had just happened here?
Harper went over to the pillar, and looked up at it, trying to see what it was, and what had just happened. “Well,” Ian offered, “We might as well follow him. We’ve got nothing better to do.” So Ian walked up to the pillar, easily scaled it, and came to the circle of spikes.
He stood there on the slimy pillar, waiting for whatever had taken the Vortigaunt to take him as well. He heard a loud buzzing sound, and then there was a flash of green light. Suddenly, his vision went blank, and he could see nothing but blackness. All he could hear was the sound of his own breathing, and the steady rhythm of his heart.
He had the sensation that he was falling infinitely through space. For that split second, eh thought “This is what dying must feel like.” Then, like a flash of lighting, his feet were back on solid ground. The blackness had left him, and it appeared that he was back inside the mines, there was the same alien grass populating the ground, and he was also wading knee-deep in the red goo.
Next to him stood the hunched figure of the Vortigaunt: he didn’t seem to be affected at all by the troubling experience of teleportation. It must have been common to him, to just teleport from one place to another. Suddenly, there were several other green flashes, and the other members of the group appeared all around Ian and the Vortigaunt.
Plucking his foot from the mass, he looked down, and noticed appallingly that the floor was covered in some sort of brown, webby material, separated by a songlike, organic material. “What is this stuff?” Ian asked, kicking some of it with his foot.
The Vortigaunt replied with his computer generated voice. “It is the natural groundcover of Xen. It’s called hutlagh’ it is like our version of grass. I suspect that we are close to my Xenian brethren now. No doubt they would plant hutlagh’ here to make them feel more at home.” The Vortigaunt bent over, and sniffed the ground. “Yes, it does indeed remind me of my home…”
Ian felt uncomfortable on the spongy material. Unlike the Vortigaunt, all that this stuff reminded him of was the destruction of his planet by the combine. Once everyone had made it down to the bottom of the cave, Father Gregori, with his flashlight in hand, stood in the center of the group.
“Alright, we are not far from them now. However, these caves can be rather confusing, and we might get lost if we do not know where we are going. I remember where they were the last time, but they may have moved since then. IN short, they could be anywhere. But we will find them, if they do not find us. Stick close my friends, this mine is the strangest place I have been on the face of God’s Earth.”
With that, Father Gregori trekked off into the caves through the spongy, web like ground-covering. The others followed him through the caves like a flock of birds, looking in every direction, trying to see through the shadows for some indication of which route they should follow.
As they continued down the path, past abandoned mining equipment, and forgotten tunnels, the landscape grew stranger and stranger. Now there were odd fungi growing intermittently on the cave wall, some of them emitted light. Soon the proliferation of the fungi grew so dense that Father Gregori no longer needed to use his flashlight. Instead, they were easily able to see in the orange glow of the Xenian fungi.
As they continued further, stranger and stranger fungi grew. There were some that moved, and swayed, others that lashed out at them as they passed by. There were even some that resembled enormous headcrabs, driven into the ground like some kind of massive parasites.
Here and there, there were openings in the ground that were lined with pink organic material, and what Ian swore were teeth. The Vortigaunt called them “Bouncers” and warned that none of them should step on the bouncers, unless they wanted to be splattered against the ceiling; whatever that meant.
Now they came to a huge red mining device. It looked like an ore separator, the sort of thing that you would put raw ore in, and it would separate it into large rocks and gravel. Ian knew this from being one of the miners under the citadel just two weeks before. However, this mining device was long since abandoned, and several fungi and vines had already made their home inside it.
Father Gregori stopped suddenly at the mining device, and placed his hand on it. “I remember this. The mines have changed much since I was last here… but this mining device I remember. We are very close to their headquarters now. Be strong, my friends, for the next part of this journey is very frightening, just follow me, trust in God, and you will do fine.” Ian wondered what he meant about it being frightening. What could be more frightening than what they had just been through?
Suddenly, Father Gregori let out a yell, and ran to the left. Unexpectedly, he disappeared, and his yelling could be heard growing farther and farter away. It seemed as if he had just fallen through the ground. “Uh…ok? What just happened here?” Harper asked in disbelief.
What had happened to Father Gregori? One minute he was running and yelling, and the next he was jut gone. As they stood there in disbelief, suddenly, they heard the sound of Father Gregori’s voice. “Comrades, come down here with me! It’s exhilarating!” His voice echoed through the cave.
Hurriedly, the rest of the group ran towards the sound of his voice. Ian skidded to a stop when he came to a huge hole in the ground. He must have noticed it because of the holes placement on the hill. That’s why it seemed that Father Gregori simply disappeared when he fell down the hole.
Ian looked over the edge, and what he saw shocked him. There at the bottom, perhaps 30 feet down, was row upon row of the toothed, round holes that the Vortigaunt called Bouncers. Next to the rows of bouncers, there stood Father Gregori, smiling and waving.
“Don’t be afraid, friends,” he shouted, “These creatures will block your fall; it will be like floating on a cloud!” Harper looked appalled, “You want us to just jump off of this 30 foot cliff and expect us to land safely?” Harper asked sarcastically. Father Gregori shrugged, “Worked for me…” he replied.
“Oh for Heaven’s sake Harper, I’m just going to go!” Alyx said to Harper. She jumped off of the cliff; a move which defied all logic. She let out a yell, and Ian watched as she fell towards the ground. He expected her to just land, and break a few bones. However, when she came a few feet from one of the Bouncers, Ian heard a hissing sound, like a steam train would make. The Bouncer’s membrane lifted up, and Alyx was blown back into the air by an invisible force, but only about five feet this time.
She floated forward, like a cat making a leap, and landed delicately on the ground next to Father Gregori. “Woohoo!” she exclaimed, brushing coal dust off of her. “That was amazing! You guys have to try it!” Ian, however, was still hesitant to jump into the jaws of the strange creatures.
The Vortigaunt was the next one to make the jump. Gracefully, it leaped off of the ledge, and floated down to Father Gregori and Alyx. Ian knew that he would have to jump soon. “You or me?” he asked Tonya, who was standing next to him.
“I’m afraid,” she replied. Ian took her hand. “Then we’ll go together!” He said, jumping off of the ledge. He dragged Tonya down with him as he fell. He had the strange sensation that his stomach was floating up to his throat. The rows of mouths loomed underneath him. The ground came up at him like a baseball bat, and Tonya screamed in horror.
Then, just as they were about to hit the ground, the nearest Bouncer to them inflated like a balloon. He heard a hissing sound, and they were both stopped suddenly by a steady stream of air. Ian felt like he was walking on a cloud as one Bouncer passed them to another one, until they finally floated easily back down to the ground next to Father Gregori, Alyx, and the Vortigaunt.
“That was fun!” Tonya exclaimed giddily. Ian replied, “Interesting how entertaining alien plants can be…” Collectively, they all looked up at Harper, who still stood on the ledge meekly. “C’mon Harper, it’s easy!” Alyx called up to him, “Or are you afraid of heights or something?” Harper grumbled, and jumped off of the ledge.
Just like the others, he nearly hit the bottom, and then floated down next to the rest of the group. He laughed nervously, “Ok…that…was…fun…” he admitted. “Now what?” Ian asked Father Gregori. The old priest looked around. “We are very close to the place where I met them last. Come with me, friends, and I will show you what to do next.” Father Gregori walked off in a direction, and the others followed him.
They were in a much larger cavern now, and very few of the fungi grew on the walls here, but everything was covered in the strange alien grass. There was an indentation in the center of the cavern, where there was a strange, red liquid which smelled rancid.
“What is this place?” Ian asked rhetorically into the darkness. They waded through the rancid red liquid, and Gregori began to speak. “Right here, this is exactly where I met them last. They told me to say something when I came back. Some kind of password…if only I could remember it…” Father Gregori sat there for a moment, thinking about what it was he had to say.
Then, he snapped his fingers. “Ah, I remember now,” he exclaimed. “Comes another traveler: To redeem the words of the ancient!” As he yelled this nonsensical phrase, the ground began to shake. Ian stabilized himself with his arms, trying not to lose his balance and fall over.
The liquid stuff rippled around them as the ground shook. Unexpectedly, in the center of the room, from beneath the liquid appeared a blue light. Out of the blue light rose some kind of organic pillar, asymmetric and glowing.
The pillar plowed out of the fluid like a monolith, and stood there, buzzing and glowing. “Whoa…” interjected Harper. “What is it?” Tonya asked. It was the Vortigaunt who answered her question. “I recognize it from Xen. It’s a transporter device, one of the ones that we used to transport our shipments of packaged Gen-Troops to our Combine overlords. I believe I know what I must do next…” The Vortigaunt ran towards the pillar.
He leaped up to the top of the pillar, and stepped into an enclave made by a series of spikes on top of the pillar. Then, there was a flash of green light, and the Vortigaunt disappeared. The rest of the group just looked at the pillar. What had just happened here?
Harper went over to the pillar, and looked up at it, trying to see what it was, and what had just happened. “Well,” Ian offered, “We might as well follow him. We’ve got nothing better to do.” So Ian walked up to the pillar, easily scaled it, and came to the circle of spikes.
He stood there on the slimy pillar, waiting for whatever had taken the Vortigaunt to take him as well. He heard a loud buzzing sound, and then there was a flash of green light. Suddenly, his vision went blank, and he could see nothing but blackness. All he could hear was the sound of his own breathing, and the steady rhythm of his heart.
He had the sensation that he was falling infinitely through space. For that split second, eh thought “This is what dying must feel like.” Then, like a flash of lighting, his feet were back on solid ground. The blackness had left him, and it appeared that he was back inside the mines, there was the same alien grass populating the ground, and he was also wading knee-deep in the red goo.
Next to him stood the hunched figure of the Vortigaunt: he didn’t seem to be affected at all by the troubling experience of teleportation. It must have been common to him, to just teleport from one place to another. Suddenly, there were several other green flashes, and the other members of the group appeared all around Ian and the Vortigaunt.
theotherguy
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Harper looked fairly spooked, and he stood there with eyes wide. Tonya and Alyx, however, were smiling. Father Gregori seemed somewhat pleased that his “password“had actually worked. There stood there in silence for a moment, and then Harper asked, “So are they going to come for us, or are we supposed to go looking for them?”
Just as Harper said this, the group could hear odd squeaking and grunting noises from all around them. Could these be the cries of the Xenians? Ian couldn’t tell by trying to see through the darkness around them. The shrieking, until suddenly, the light of Father Gregori’s flashlight fell upon a strange floating alien creature.
It was orange in color, had a very large head, and a tiny body. It had three claws, like the Vortigaunt, as well as mandibles, and two red glowing eyes. It wore a brown loincloth, which appeared old, worn, and ancient. It made a shrieking sound, and landed in the liquid just in front of them.
By impulse, Harper pulled out his gun and pointed it at the beast. Father Gregori placed his hand on Harpers gun, and lowered it. “Are you insane? This is the one I spoke to before! He is their leader!” Harper hesitantly put his gun back in its holster to appease Father Gregori.
The alien creature shrieked once more, and then, Ian’s mind was filled with a strange alien voice. “Who are you, alien creatures who come into the midst of my great hall?” The voice in Ian’s mind boomed. Ian translated to the rest of the group, “He’s speaking to me in my mind, and he asks us who we are…”
It was the Vortigaunt who answered the creature’s questions. The Vortigaunt bowed, and replied in both thought speak and with his computer-generated voice. “Almighty Overseer, we have come all the way from City-17. We are part of the resistance there. I am the humble Zuad’ngak with me is Father Gregori, a noble human. You have met him before.”
The creature shrieked again. “Yes, I have met him,” it replied in thought speech. “It took us much labor to communicate with him until we found an overseer capable of speaking his language. Why have you come back? What do you want from us?”
Again Ian translated what the overseer had said. Then, Ian answered the overseer with his own mind. “Please, overseer, do not be offended by our coming. We merely heard that you had resistance fighters here. The resistance in City-17 needs all the help we can get. We are devoted to crushing The Combine. We merely thought that you could help us.”
The overseer shrieked again, and lifted its hands into the air. Suddenly, two balls of glowing energy appeared in its hands. The light from the energy balls was cast around the room, and the group could see what was all around them.
What they saw terrified them. All around them stood the tall, dark, 7 foot figures of aliens dressed in full body armor which was glistening in the light of the energy balls. The creatures all had three arms like Zuad’ngak, the Vortigaunt that had come with them. On each creature, they had an arm that was covered entirely by some sort of three-pronged weapon.
Ian and the others were repulsed by the sudden appearance of these warriors, and they moved closer to one another. At this the overseer responded. “Yes, you see that we are strong. We would destroy you now if you did not have the noble Father Gregori with you. The only human we have ever trusted was our liberator, Gordon Freeman. We have foreseen the troubles that will come to City-17. But we do not care. Whatever happens to this planet, it will only make it more habitable to us. We build up our army every day…eventually; we will come out and rule the world, Combine and humans alike.”
Ian translated this to the rest of the group, who were notably shocked at the creature’s attitude. Angrily, the Vortigaunt Zuad’ngak, let out a fiery reply.
“Don’t be foolish overseer! You know as well as us that the humans are no match for The Combine. The humans are on our side! These ones have shown me kindness; they have given me new life! How could you reject them! Their planet, like ours, is being taken by The Combine. Do you remember, overseer, the day the Old Niniliath was replaced by the Combine puppet? Do you remember when our cities fell in the Terraforming, and how they forced us to invade this planet? It is happening to them now! In just a few months, their planet will be nothing but gravel, like our planet. Is that really what you want to happen?”
Zuad’ngak’s computerized words echoed through the cavern. The other stone-faced warriors began mumbling their own conversations to one another, and the overseer floated there in thought for a moment. “Very well, my dear Zuad’ngak… You have made a good point. But I will not send forces to City-17, unless The Freeman himself appeared there. I do not want to see this planet destroyed, like Xen was… but is it worth the effort? We have foreseen that it is not months until the Terraforming, but weeks, possibly even days. Your efforts are hopeless.”
It was only days away from the Terraforming? Ian relayed this information to the others, who were visibly shocked. Zuad’ngak replied once more. “Even more reason,” he said, “to send forces to City-17. Together, the scientists from Black Mesa, the resistance fighters of Prague, and we Xenians can overcome them!” The overseer responded quickly, “There are Black Mesa scientists there: the faction that sent the great liberator, Gordon Freeman to our planet? If for no other reason that is good enough for us! We will send forces as soon as possible to City-17. A Gargantuan or two ought to be more than a match for their pathetic striders.” The procession of warrior aliens belted a collective laugh at this for some reason.
“What did he say?” whispered Harper. “He said he would send troops,” Replied Ian. The overseer continued with his speech. “Any friend of Gordon Freeman is a friend of ours. We needed so badly for a liberator. He was there when we needed him. We will gratefully help you humans now.”
The Vortigaunt responded, “Eternal thanks overseer,” he said, giving a huge bow. “There is one other order of business that we must attend to, however. You see, we have no way of getting home. We were wondering if you could provide us transportation.”
The overseer shrieked. “Of course,” he thought spoke. “As you can probably tell, we overseers have limited capacity for teleportation. I could send you all back to City-17. Send my official good wishes to the Black Mesa people there. We are eternally grateful for what they did there. You will know when we have arrived when the first Gargantuan begins beating down the walls of the Combine Citadel.” Ian wondered how large a “Gargantuan” would have to be to do such a thing.
Ian quickly translated what the overseer had said, and the group got a collective smile on their faces. So they would get a free ride home. “Thank you.” Ian thought spoke to the overseer. The creature then began to spin around them in the air, humming and chanting as it did so. The other aliens in the room began chanting as well.
Suddenly, there was a green flash, and the group disappeared into nothingness…
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Meanwhile, at the Nova Prospect, Gordon Freeman began the long process of Combine interrogation….
-Chapter 30, Interrogation and Dischord-
Just as Harper said this, the group could hear odd squeaking and grunting noises from all around them. Could these be the cries of the Xenians? Ian couldn’t tell by trying to see through the darkness around them. The shrieking, until suddenly, the light of Father Gregori’s flashlight fell upon a strange floating alien creature.
It was orange in color, had a very large head, and a tiny body. It had three claws, like the Vortigaunt, as well as mandibles, and two red glowing eyes. It wore a brown loincloth, which appeared old, worn, and ancient. It made a shrieking sound, and landed in the liquid just in front of them.
By impulse, Harper pulled out his gun and pointed it at the beast. Father Gregori placed his hand on Harpers gun, and lowered it. “Are you insane? This is the one I spoke to before! He is their leader!” Harper hesitantly put his gun back in its holster to appease Father Gregori.
The alien creature shrieked once more, and then, Ian’s mind was filled with a strange alien voice. “Who are you, alien creatures who come into the midst of my great hall?” The voice in Ian’s mind boomed. Ian translated to the rest of the group, “He’s speaking to me in my mind, and he asks us who we are…”
It was the Vortigaunt who answered the creature’s questions. The Vortigaunt bowed, and replied in both thought speak and with his computer-generated voice. “Almighty Overseer, we have come all the way from City-17. We are part of the resistance there. I am the humble Zuad’ngak with me is Father Gregori, a noble human. You have met him before.”
The creature shrieked again. “Yes, I have met him,” it replied in thought speech. “It took us much labor to communicate with him until we found an overseer capable of speaking his language. Why have you come back? What do you want from us?”
Again Ian translated what the overseer had said. Then, Ian answered the overseer with his own mind. “Please, overseer, do not be offended by our coming. We merely heard that you had resistance fighters here. The resistance in City-17 needs all the help we can get. We are devoted to crushing The Combine. We merely thought that you could help us.”
The overseer shrieked again, and lifted its hands into the air. Suddenly, two balls of glowing energy appeared in its hands. The light from the energy balls was cast around the room, and the group could see what was all around them.
What they saw terrified them. All around them stood the tall, dark, 7 foot figures of aliens dressed in full body armor which was glistening in the light of the energy balls. The creatures all had three arms like Zuad’ngak, the Vortigaunt that had come with them. On each creature, they had an arm that was covered entirely by some sort of three-pronged weapon.
Ian and the others were repulsed by the sudden appearance of these warriors, and they moved closer to one another. At this the overseer responded. “Yes, you see that we are strong. We would destroy you now if you did not have the noble Father Gregori with you. The only human we have ever trusted was our liberator, Gordon Freeman. We have foreseen the troubles that will come to City-17. But we do not care. Whatever happens to this planet, it will only make it more habitable to us. We build up our army every day…eventually; we will come out and rule the world, Combine and humans alike.”
Ian translated this to the rest of the group, who were notably shocked at the creature’s attitude. Angrily, the Vortigaunt Zuad’ngak, let out a fiery reply.
“Don’t be foolish overseer! You know as well as us that the humans are no match for The Combine. The humans are on our side! These ones have shown me kindness; they have given me new life! How could you reject them! Their planet, like ours, is being taken by The Combine. Do you remember, overseer, the day the Old Niniliath was replaced by the Combine puppet? Do you remember when our cities fell in the Terraforming, and how they forced us to invade this planet? It is happening to them now! In just a few months, their planet will be nothing but gravel, like our planet. Is that really what you want to happen?”
Zuad’ngak’s computerized words echoed through the cavern. The other stone-faced warriors began mumbling their own conversations to one another, and the overseer floated there in thought for a moment. “Very well, my dear Zuad’ngak… You have made a good point. But I will not send forces to City-17, unless The Freeman himself appeared there. I do not want to see this planet destroyed, like Xen was… but is it worth the effort? We have foreseen that it is not months until the Terraforming, but weeks, possibly even days. Your efforts are hopeless.”
It was only days away from the Terraforming? Ian relayed this information to the others, who were visibly shocked. Zuad’ngak replied once more. “Even more reason,” he said, “to send forces to City-17. Together, the scientists from Black Mesa, the resistance fighters of Prague, and we Xenians can overcome them!” The overseer responded quickly, “There are Black Mesa scientists there: the faction that sent the great liberator, Gordon Freeman to our planet? If for no other reason that is good enough for us! We will send forces as soon as possible to City-17. A Gargantuan or two ought to be more than a match for their pathetic striders.” The procession of warrior aliens belted a collective laugh at this for some reason.
“What did he say?” whispered Harper. “He said he would send troops,” Replied Ian. The overseer continued with his speech. “Any friend of Gordon Freeman is a friend of ours. We needed so badly for a liberator. He was there when we needed him. We will gratefully help you humans now.”
The Vortigaunt responded, “Eternal thanks overseer,” he said, giving a huge bow. “There is one other order of business that we must attend to, however. You see, we have no way of getting home. We were wondering if you could provide us transportation.”
The overseer shrieked. “Of course,” he thought spoke. “As you can probably tell, we overseers have limited capacity for teleportation. I could send you all back to City-17. Send my official good wishes to the Black Mesa people there. We are eternally grateful for what they did there. You will know when we have arrived when the first Gargantuan begins beating down the walls of the Combine Citadel.” Ian wondered how large a “Gargantuan” would have to be to do such a thing.
Ian quickly translated what the overseer had said, and the group got a collective smile on their faces. So they would get a free ride home. “Thank you.” Ian thought spoke to the overseer. The creature then began to spin around them in the air, humming and chanting as it did so. The other aliens in the room began chanting as well.
Suddenly, there was a green flash, and the group disappeared into nothingness…
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Meanwhile, at the Nova Prospect, Gordon Freeman began the long process of Combine interrogation….
-Chapter 30, Interrogation and Dischord-
halflifeguy
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i love this guy!! is he only 14?
im 14 to. I always start to write stories but never finish them
im 14 to. I always start to write stories but never finish them
Smack500
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I think hes had a birthday since then, hes 15 now either way he has great writing skills 
. Man reading this stuff makes me want the game more then ever, and wish they had chosen HL to base a movie off of. It would have made 10x more money then this doom movie. Doom has a very genaric, and unrealistic story line.
. Man reading this stuff makes me want the game more then ever, and wish they had chosen HL to base a movie off of. It would have made 10x more money then this doom movie. Doom has a very genaric, and unrealistic story line.
theotherguy
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Xenome said:
15 actually
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